[briers]

Would a 3 story house put you off especially if you had kids.

The main rooms are kitchen / breakfast, dining room and siting room downstairs. Main lounge and bedroom 1 on 1st floor and rest of bedrooms on 2nd floor.

Would it bother you having the kids upstairs or having to invite people upstairs to the lounge?

Sitting room on ground floor is good for 4 seated people and is quite small.

[Vaheed1]

Originally Posted by briers

Would a 3 story house put you off especially if you had kids.

The main rooms are kitchen / breakfast, dining room and siting room downstairs. Main lounge and bedroom 1 on 1st floor and rest of bedrooms on 2nd floor.

Would it bother you having the kids upstairs or having to invite people upstairs to the lounge?

Sitting room on ground floor is good for 4 seated people and is quite small.

Hi, we decided against a town house for the sheer fact that we have a child and are planning more for the future. Personally, i like the setup - but I can imagine it being a bit of a pain after a while. It does have it's benefits and it all depends on where the family would spend most of it's time together - which is, usually, in the Kitchen/dining area -if there's a sofa/kitchen bar area in there. That area is usually bigger in town houses - which is where the benefits of having 3 tiers comes in.

[kaishang]

IMHO wide and flat is better than tall and skinny when it comes to living arrangements.

[briers]

That's what I thought people might think. It mimics a town house but it's detached new build.

It's an amazing house but it's been on the market about a year with 2 low ish offers.

There is a table and sofa in kitchen and the sitting room over the hall.

It does have a study on the 1st floor too which would be ok for a new born.

We thought there must be a reason why it isn't selling we personally love it but hope resale ability and value isn't affected. sounds like it might be.

[Kerr]

I lived in one before and can't recommend it.

The extra staircase eats further into living space.

Also it was severe difficulty to get things like a large suite up the staircase.

[Vaheed1]

Originally Posted by briers

That's what I thought people might think. It mimics a town house but it's detached new build.

It's an amazing house but it's been on the market about a year with 2 low ish offers.

There is a table and sofa in kitchen and the sitting room over the hall.

It does have a study on the 1st floor too which would be ok for a new born.

We thought there must be a reason why it isn't selling we personally love it but hope resale ability and value isn't affected. sounds like it might be.

If you like it and can't see it being a problem, then put a cheeky offer in? We're in the middle of completing for our first family house and can't wait. We looked at town houses (before our little one) and had to re-think because allot of them up here were built with a garage on the ground floor - so it cramped the space downstairs. Not only that, but the gardens that came with them were very small. We decided on a older 3 bed semi with huge garden - the plan is to build 2 more rooms (convert garage and build above) and in 5 or so years time, rent it as a 5 bed - (we're near 2 universities) - and buy somewhere a little further out of city.

[mowflow]

We looked a house like that a couple of years ago when we were expecting our first child. It was the thought of trying to manouver furniture in that put me off. I could see a new build being even worse in this regard what with their "economic" use of space,

[briers]

I hadn't thought about the furniture going upstairs, i think the space won us over.

The mrs says we buy a house for us which I agree with but I just had to ask general consensus of these types of houses. I couldn't believe it was on for a year given the space and decor but I just think the market is extremely slow. Other houses have been on the same or longer.

[rich1068]

It wouldn't bother me. I'd probably enjoy the slightly more unusual layout so long as the rooms were larger than the usual 'new build' sizes you sometimes see.

And with two kids we effectively live over three floors in the Victorian terrace we're already in.

[JLR1969]

If its not sold in 12 months it's probably over priced or has a lot of quirks that put people off.

It's all about location for me. We spent months looking and after 100s of searches found a house that was about 90% right.

If you have to ask on the forum for people's opinion then it's not right, you will know when you find the right house.

[dopper99]

Strikes me its an excuse for the scanking builder to put a 4 bed house on a plot of land that you'd normally put a normal 2/3 bed house on. So they are using less of the land they originally bought to put a more expensive house on (in terms of bedrooms etc) and make more money. I wouldnt buy one on principle.

I want a bit of land for my money and that includes the footprint the house sits on

Oh, and I cant be assed to walk up up and down the stairs all day long. Every time you get a knock at the door you'd be up and down stairs. Too many compromises I think.

[SteveC]

Due the fact that they're not making it any more and what there is is in high demand, land is expensive. Land has several uses, as a recreational area, parking for your car, to provide space between you and your neighbours etc. Being inaccessible, the land under your house delivers no tangible benefits, however it still costs a lot of money.
Buying a small plot is cheaper than a large plot. Putting up a 3 storey house maximizes the benefits the land delivers, giving increased benefits for your £s, as long as you can live with the extra staircases. For a young family, this should not be an issue.

Saying that the staircases take away space is true, but balanced by the fact that the money saved on the land (smaller footprint) can be invested in additional space.

My sister-in-law just bought a 3 bedroom townhouse and the £ to space ratio is excellent. Lot of 'dead' money in the footprint of a single storey house....unless of course you're elderly and can't manage staircases, then the benefits of a bungalow are obvious. So its all about extracting the maximum benefits from your ££££s

[Steve A]

A friend of mine lives in one. The downstairs garage space is now an additional room, giving him a true ground floor living experience, and they get on well with it. My problem with all new builds is the room size ans they are too small to work for my needs.

If i could get a townhouse with the roomspace of my edwardian house id buy one.

[briers]

I took a screenshot of the house style as its not a traditional new build town house.

The space won us over, it was noticeably bigger than the normal 2 story new build detached but the same price bracket. But now it makes sense because the land plot is probably similar sized.

I guess the trade off reading this thread is many people don't like having to go up and down stairs all the time.

[JLR1969]

It's a shame that so many modern houses have no character.

[briers]

Yep they all look bland and uninspiring

There are some v.nice older houses in other parts of the country, I miss the features but not the gas bills.

[JLR1969]

Originally Posted by briers

Yep they all look bland and uninspiring

There are some v.nice older houses in other parts of the country, I miss the features but not the gas bills.

100% agree. The house we are renting was built in 1799 I have now idea what the first gas and electricity bill will be but it's not going to be cheap.

It seems to always be cold unless you have the heating on.

[rogerxp]

Maybe not steeped in tradition but certainly looks quite grand!! Friends of our live in virtually the same house as pictured in Wakefield but I've never been invited upstairs to comment LOL

[peterg1965]

That is not a townhouse in my eyes, that is a 3 storey newbuild, is the kitchen/lounge on the ground floor? In my view a townhouse is a narrow home, usually with a garage on the ground floor + kitchen and the lounge bedrooms on the upper floors.

[briers]

Yes I thought I should post a picture because I think people were thinking of the typical attached tall thin new builds with integrated garage.

It does have a sitting room downstairs but it is not that big. I was thinking of Improving this by knocking out the wall through to the dining room which is a lot bigger and going open plan.

Directly above is the lounge which stretched front to back and is much bigger.

But I still think despite the space people are still put off by going up and down stairs for things like nipping to the kitchen or answering the door.

[hmi1750]

Looks similar to mine, but we have a small dining room and a long lounge on ground floor.

The dining room is used as a TV room and the long lounge is not long enough but we have squeezed our dining table in it too.

I have guests and elders who come and stay, no one struggles too much with the steps to go into the top story... the picture you posted shows a proper 3rd floor and then a loft above, looks large for a new build!

If its good value, go for it!

[mowflow]

My initial reaction is that I find that house very ugly. The flat featureless front and relatively small windows along with the proportions make it look like a shrunken council tower block in red brick rather than concrete. Did you notice if it was very dark inside as those windows look very narrow and widely spaced? I'd guess that they would have decorated with very light colours and furniture to create a brighter home for showing.

I think at the end of the day if the house suits you and your family and the price is right then why not buy it. If you ever decide to sell up then I'm sure there will be like minded buyers out there.